Depending on its type—e.g., the chemical reactions involved—a power supply such as a battery cell or a battery pack may emit a certain amount of gas during its working life. Providing a ventilation system to allow such byproduct gasses to escape the power supply may be desirable in certain applications, such as when a battery pack is used in a vehicle. To vent battery cells and battery packs carried aboard a wheeled motor vehicle (such as a car, truck, van, SUV, construction vehicle, etc.), an elaborate system may be required to capture the byproduct gases and exhaust them out of the vehicle. Adding to this design challenge is that, in a system of multiple cells in a stack or array, the tolerance stack-up of the cells with its neighboring cells may make it difficult to provide robust sealing for a byproduct gas venting system.
Many battery packs require a cooling system to maintain proper system operation over the expected range of operating conditions and temperatures. In motor vehicles, cooling is commonly achieved by providing a flow of air through the pack so that it passes over/around the individual cells. The air may be drawn from the interior and/or the exterior of the vehicle, and may likewise be exhausted to the interior and/or exterior of the vehicle. If the battery pack cooling gas is exhausted into the vehicle interior, it is generally desirable for any byproduct gasses that may be emitted by the battery cells to be kept separate from the cooling gas stream so that the byproduct gasses do not enter the passenger compartment.